22-10-2025 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

The dama gazelle (Nanger dama), also known as the addra gazelle or mhorr gazelle, is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa, in the Sahara desert and the Sahel. A critically endangered species, it has disappeared from most of its former range due to overhunting and habitat loss, and natural populations only remain in Chad, Mali, and Niger. Its habitat includes grassland, shrubland, semi-deserts, open savanna and mountain plateaus. Its diet includes shrubs, herbs, grasses, leaves (especially Acacia leaves), shoots, and fruit.

In Niger, the dama gazelle has become a national symbol. Under the Hausa name meyna or ménas, the dama gazelle appears on the badge of the Niger national football team, who are popularly called the Ménas.

Another reason for the decline of the dama gazelle is habitat destruction. Humans cut down the branches of the trees on which this gazelle feeds. As a result, the trees die and the gazelle cannot eat. Human threats are the most dangerous of threats to the dama gazelle. The main reason this species of gazelle is endangered is because of mechanized hunting; hunters using vehicles increase its decline. Civil unrest, for instance in Sudan, also negatively affects the life of the dama gazelle. Since the gazelle is already having a hard time surviving, these conditions have made its habitat unsuitable. A potential threat the dama gazelle faces is tourism. Tourists want to take pictures of this endangered species, and in doing so, may be perceived as a threat, especially during the hot season. Gazelles will run away from perceived danger, and in the hot season may overheat and die of stress.

8-3-2023 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74723-Nanger-dama

3-11-2021 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74723-Nanger-dama

29-3-2021 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74723-Nanger-dama

 

12-2-2020 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

23-10-2019 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

The dama gazelle (Nanger dama), also known as the addra gazelle or mhorr gazelle, is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa, in the Sahara desert and the Sahel. A critically endangered species, it has disappeared from most of its former range due to overhunting and habitat loss, and natural populations only remain in Chad, Mali, and Niger. Its habitat includes grassland, shrubland, semi-deserts, open savanna and mountain plateaus. Its diet includes shrubs, herbs, grasses, leaves (especially Acacia leaves), shoots, and fruit.

In Niger, the dama gazelle has become a national symbol. Under the Hausa name meyna or ménas, the dama gazelle appears on the badge of the Niger national football team, who are popularly called the Ménas.

The dama gazelle is white with a reddish-brown head and neck. Both sexes usually have medium-length ringed horns curved like an "S". Males' horns are about 35 cm (14 in) long, while females' horns are much shorter. The head is small with a narrow muzzle, and the eyes are relatively large. It has a longer neck and longer legs than most gazelles. It is between 90 and 95 cm (35 and 37 in) tall at the shoulder, weighs between 35 and 75 kg (77 and 165 lb), and has a lifespan up to 12 years in the wild or 18 in captivity. A few days following birth, dama young are strong enough to follow the herd, and after a week, they are able to run as fast as the adults. The dama gazelle is considered the largest species of gazelle, with incredibly long legs, which provide extra surface area to dissipate heat, one of the many ways it stays cool in its hot desert environment. It also tends to need more water than some of its desert relatives, but it can withstand fairly long periods of drought. Unlike many other desert mammals, the dama gazelle is a diurnal species, meaning it is active during the day. Always on the alert, the dama gazelle uses a behavior called pronking to warn herd members of danger. Pronking involves the animal hopping up and down with all four of its legs stiff, so that its limbs all leave and touch the ground at the same time. Males also establish territories, and during breeding season, they actively exclude other mature males. They mark their territories with urine and dung piles and secretions from glands near their eyes.

The Dama gazelle does not need a lot of water, but it needs more than other desert animals. It is not as resistant and perishes from a lack of water during the drought season. The environment has become ill-suited for it. Habitat pressure from pastoral activity is another reason for decline, as are introduced diseases from livestock.

Another reason for the decline of the dama gazelle is habitat destruction. Humans cut down the branches of the trees on which this gazelle feeds. As a result, the trees die and the gazelle cannot eat. Human threats are the most dangerous of threats to the dama gazelle. The main reason this species of gazelle is endangered is because of mechanized hunting; hunters using vehicles increase its decline. Civil unrest, for instance in Sudan, also negatively affects the life of the dama gazelle. Since the gazelle is already having a hard time surviving, these conditions have made its habitat unsuitable. A potential threat the dama gazelle faces is tourism. Tourists want to take pictures of this endangered species, and in doing so, may be perceived as a threat, especially during the hot season. Gazelles will run away from perceived danger, and in the hot season may overheat and die of stress.

The dama gazelle's historical range included the desert and arid zones of Chad (eastern), and the Darfur and Kordofan Provinces of Sudan. Due to wars in their range, habitat destruction, desertification, overhunting, and human and livestock population expansion, they are now extremely rare, occurring only as vagrants or in pockets

The life span of the dama gazelle is unknown in the wild. In human care, individual males have lived up to 15 years and individual females have lived up to 19 years.

Dama gazelles obtain most of their water from the plants they consume. Their diet includes various desert shrubs and acacias, along with rough desert grasses.

At the Zoo, they eat orchard grass hay and alfalfa hay — about a flake each per day. In addition they eat roughly 2.5 pounds of herbivore pellet per day, with leaf eater biscuits and browse as treats.

16-1-2019 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

13-9-2017 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DAMA GAZELLE (Nanger dama)

In Niger, the dama gazelle has become a national symbol. Under the Hausa name meyna or ménas, the dama gazelle appears on the badge of the Niger national football team, who are popularly called the Ménas.

Dama gazelle is definitely one of the most elegant and graceful creatures around the globe. Additionally, it's the largest gazelle in the world. This adorable animal is endemic to arid habitats, found along the southern edges of the Sahara Desert. Unfortunately, Dama gazelle is now threatened with total extinction as a result of local climate change, encroachment, frequent military and civil conflict as well as excessive hunting. Gazelles are even-toed ungulates (otherwise called hoofed animals), which means that they exhibit an equal number of functional toes on each of their feet. These animals are widespread throughout Africa and Asia, where they are represented by 19 species.

These mammals are native to the region of African Sahel as well as Sahara Desert. Their former range used to cover Morocco and Egypt. Because of overhunting on this species, Dama gazelles are now found exclusively at the junction of Senegal (where they exist due to reintroduction) and Sudan (Chad; Mali; Niger). Preferred types of habitat for these gazelles are grasslands and semi-desert terrains. Nevertheless, they are often seen in marginal environments. They typically occupy stony plains, plateaus as well as mountain foothills.

Dama gazelles are diurnal and highly social creatures. They are known to gather into mixed groups of 10 - 20 individuals, including a single dominant male. The latter usually displays its social status by horning surrounding bushes and grasses. The dominant male may also remain apart from the herd, which is also a dominance display. Members of these herds spend their daytime hours travelling in search of suitable vegetation and water sources. Dama gazelles exhibit seasonal migration. With the onset of winter, they congregate in large groups of several hundred individuals in order to travel north to the Sahara desert. They will return to their Sahel range only by the dry season. Male Dama gazelles may use their horns in threat displays. These are demonstrations of their power, during which they usually perform head shaking and 'pretend' fights. Dama gazelles communicate with each other primarily through body language.

Dama gazelles exhibit polygynous mating system. During the reproductive season, males of this species fiercely defend their mating rights against each other. On the other hand, males often cooperate, forming groups and chasing females in order to keep the latter within the area as well as ward off other rival males. Dama gazelles mate in March-June. Gestation period lasts for 6 - 6.5 months, yielding a single baby, which remains hidden in a secluded place during the first few days of its life. After a while, the calf starts following its mother. Female Dama gazelles are known to be very careful and protective mothers. Moreover, pairs of females have been known to defend their young against jackals together, often attacking and chasing the latter. Weaning occurs at about 6 months of age, while the age of reproductive maturity is 9 - 12 months old for females and 1.5 - 2 years old for males.

This Critically Endangered species has currently lost almost all of its original range and population due to excessive hunting and poaching for its horns and meat. Dama gazelles are presently threatened by loss of their small remaining habitat, as a result of desertification. They also suffer from loss of important tree cover because of human activities such as clearance. Another noticeable concern is excessive grazing by livestock, which dries the land and makes these animals leave their territories. And finally, population numbers of Dama gazelles are directly affected by frequent civil unrests in countries of their range.